NFL Playoff Picture: 4 Ways Week 15 Could Shake Everything Up

The Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans have all locked up a playoff spot through Week 14.

Week 15 however, still has a lot of smoke to clear and, based on how the season has gone so far, some surprising things can, and probably will, still happen.

That said, here are the four ways this week can shake up the playoff picture.

Lions Lose, Seahawks Win

These two games can make an immediate impact on the NFC playoff picture because the Seahawks are rolling as good as anyone right now.

This week, the Lions play at Oakland and Seattle is at Chicago. The Bears have unfortunately been plagued by injuries and the Seahawks' ground game is virtually unstoppable with Marshawn Lynch.

As for Detroit, they've had a lot of trouble against great rush offenses as their own offense hasn't played consistent enough recently to control the game tempo. If Seattle wins, which is highly probable, and Detroit falls, the Hawks are just one game back of The Motor City.

They'll move past the Bears in the playoff picture and it also opens up a big opportunity for Dallas, who plays Tampa Bay this week. The Cowboys don't have the tiebreaker over Detroit but the NFC East may have a wildcard shot.

As for Seattle, their odds significantly increase as the Lions have yet to play Green Bay a second time and the Cowboys have yet to play at the Giants. Can the NFC West really get a wild-card team? Oh yea and the odds are better than most believe.

Ravens Lose, Steelers Win

Not so much in terms of who's going to the playoffs as it is the final seedings. Pittsburgh may have lost twice to Baltimore but their only other loss is to Houston (also 10-3).

The AFC is loaded with a bunch of really good teams, so it's no surprise the Steelers have kept pace with the Ravens. This week, the Steelers play at San Francisco in a very winnable game. The 49ers offense will struggle to move the ball and their vulnerable pass defense will get exploited by Pittsburgh's offense.

Therefore, count on another Steel City dub that improves them to 11-3.

Baltimore, however, is playing at San Diego and with the Chargers winning two straight, the game is unpredictable. The Bolts are feeling confident and rightfully so because the Ravens have a knack this season for losing winnable games on the road.

The losses to Seahawks, Jaguars, and Titans have currently put Baltimore in a tough position because we had to expect that Pittsburgh would keep winning. In spite of those uncharacteristic Baltimore losses, don't be surprised by a Chargers upset.

If this happens, we'll see Pittsburgh earn a playoff bye despite losing twice to Baltimore and, once again, the Ravens would most likely travel to Pittsburgh in January if they want to win the AFC.

Broncos and Jets Win

Much like the Ravens-Steelers situation, the New York Jets and New England Patriots are racing to that division title.

The Pats' swept the Jets 2-0 this season and yet Gang Green is still alive to win the AFC East. Well, for New England to keep New York at bay they must win at Denver this week, a team that Tom Brady has struggled with in his career (1-5 record).

And if the Broncos pull off the upset while the Jets win in Philadelphia, not only does it keep Rex Ryan's shot for an AFC East title alive but Denver would be one game back for the No. 3 seed.

In addition, that would increase Denver's winning streak to seven games and clear the Jets route to the playoffs a little more.

What we're also forgetting is the Patriots' remaining schedule. Two games at home against Miami and Buffalo seem like cakewalks but the Bills upset the Pats earlier this season and the Dolphins have been playing much better since the middle of the year. Include New England's insanely weak pass defense and it would not be surprising if the Pats closed out 10-6.

In turn, the Jets would win the AFC East provided they win out and Denver would likely get the No. 3 seed. On some level all this happening would be March Madness-esque, right?

Cowboys Lose, Cardinals Win

Remember the NFC West's wildcard chances? Well, thanks to the Arizona Cardinals, the odds increase.

Much like Seattle, the Cardinals have been rolling and, thanks to the incompetence of the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona has a legit shot at the playoffs.

First, that's the head-to-head tiebreaker for the Cards and if the Cowboys, Lions, and Bears all lose this week, it moves The Grand Canyon State up one more spot closer to the NFL's second season.

Now, it's a long shot as the Cowboys are playing at Tampa Bay on Saturday and the Buccaneers have arguably the NFL's worst defense. Nonetheless, Dallas still has to play Philadelphia at home and then the Giants in New York.

Finishing 9-7 won't be good enough because that opens the door for Arizona. As long as the Cardinals can win the next two games, their Week 17 game at home versus Seattle could determine the NFC's final playoff seed.

Thankfully for Cowboys fans they at least beat Seattle earlier, so that game alone may be saving their season. Then again, we've seen this from Dallas before so out of everything mentioned, this is the most probable.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27